


Christmas Angel

by Annie46fic



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Parent Jensen, Schmoop, single parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 20:20:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annie46fic/pseuds/Annie46fic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen is a widower who has to work two jobs to keep his home.  His four year old daughter wants an angel costume for her nativity and he feels a failure because he can’t even give her that.  Then, on his way to work, he meets an old face from his past and, suddenly, all of his wishes look like they might very well come true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Angel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zomzoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zomzoms/gifts).



> Written for my lovely zomzoms on LJ as a Christmas present! This is full of clichés, sappiness, a little bit of porn and an idea that was inspired by the wonderful candygramme on LJ. Hope you like it zomzoms – Merry Christmas!

“I need an angel costume, daddy.” 

Ava stood in the lounge and fixed him to the spot with pleading green eyes. He sighed and pulled her over to him so that he could sit her on his lap. She was only four and still small enough to cuddle with like this. He held her close and sighed, staring over her head at the shabby looking Christmas tree with flickering thrift store lights and rather mangled tinsel. 

“I can’t afford to buy you one, baby.” He felt like the worst dad in the whole world just by saying the words. “I spent the last of our money on a turkey for Christmas.” He wanted to cry at her devastated expression. “I’m so sorry.”

“Mr Collins said we should get our parents to make our costumes,” she sounded a bit more hopeful. “He says it looks better when our mummies sew them for us.”

Jensen ruffled her hair; there was no way he could sew anything let alone a full blown angel costume. He had to work that evening and he hated the fact he had to leave her with a sitter. He could barely afford to pay for one but without his job there would be no Christmas presents and he was determined that he wouldn’t disappoint her. It wasn’t her fault that her momma had died when she was just a baby, it wasn’t her fault that his job as a librarian didn’t pay enough, and it wasn’t her fault that he had to work at a bar three nights a week just to keep their heads above water. He bit his lip.

“I’ll see what I can do sweetheart,” he said.

****

He made sure she was in bed before the sitter arrived; today it was Katie, a disinterested, gum chewing teen who gave him a cursory nod and then settled down in front of his old TV set bemoaning the lack of cable. He wished he could have asked her to, maybe, sew something for Ava but he couldn’t bring himself to even mention it and he left the house with his eyes downcast wondering what the hell he was going to do.

Christmas lights glittered in the windows as he walked, a multitude of colors reflecting on the pavement. It was only a few days until Christmas and he had never felt so miserable. 

He had tried so hard to be a good dad but he felt such a failure. He had presents and a small dinner planned for Christmas day and he knew Ava would be happy enough but he couldn’t help but wish they could have a Christmas like normal families. His parents had disowned him when he had married a girl they considered _beneath him_. It hadn’t mattered to him at the time; he was desperately in love and full of wild ideas. They had bought a lovely house in the suburbs and he had put himself through college. When Danneel had told him she was pregnant they had been overjoyed and made so many plans. Who could have guessed everything would have gone so wrong so quickly, who could have known he would end up losing his house because he couldn’t afford the mortgage payments, or that his parents would turn him away because _he had made his bed and had to lie in it_.

He bit his lip, tears stinging his lashes, he was so damn tired and so very lonely and he couldn’t even give his daughter the Christmas she deserved.

“Hey!”

He turned suddenly at the sound of shouting behind him. He saw the tall man waving to him frantically and he slowed, wondering what the hell was happening now.

“Jensen, right?” The man was right on top of him now. “Jensen Ackles.”

Jensen looked up and up; the man was huge, at least three inches taller than Jensen’s own six foot two. He had wavy chestnut hair that flicked over his broad shoulders, a strong jawed face and exotic fox-like eyes that slanted above high-boned cheeks. He was smiling wide and dimpled and Jensen couldn’t stop staring, thinking, vaguely, that he should remember someone so damn beautiful.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t keep the frown from denting his forehead. “I’m sorry but . . . .”

“Jared.” The guy beamed, impossibly wider. “Jared Padalecki. We were in high school together, remember?” He reached out and took Jensen’s hand in his huge paw, grip sure and firm. “You were a few years above me and the star quarterback; I used to come and watch all the games.” He laughed then. “You used to call me your little stalker.”

Jensen stared at the giant in front of him and shook his head; yeah he remembered Jared Padalecki, small, skinny kid from a Polish background, bullied and teased by all the others and pretty much friendless. Jensen had taken the boy under his wing for a time, protected him from the bullies, let him sit and watch him train. Jared had been a funny kid, more interested in home craft than sports and most of his cruel tormenters had thought he was gay.

“You’ve grown,” he managed to stutter out, still stunned. “You’ve grown a lot.”

“Yeah, I guess I have.” Jared let go of his hand and Jensen felt oddly bereft. “What are you doin' around here? This isn’t your neighborhood.”

Jensen’s mouth curved into a wry smile; this wasn’t the rich area he’d grown up in, it wasn’t even close but it was home now and he had had four years to accept it and get used to it.

“No – I-I . . . but this is where I live.” he shrugged. “I’m on my way to work now.”

“Can I walk with you?” Jared fell into step beside him. “I’m home for the holidays. It’s so good to see you again.” He grinned and his cheeks flushed pink. “I know you are probably married now and everything but I was always a little bit in love with you, you know. You saved me.”

Jensen felt his own cheeks heat up and he coughed to hide his embarrassment.

“Yeah sure,” he said, finally. “Walk with me. I work at a bar not far from here, I think I have enough loose change in my pocket to buy you a drink.”

“Nah.” Jared’s eyes were bright, shining. “It’s me who owes you a cold one. Now tell me everything - I want to know what you’re doin' with your life.”

Jensen sighed; relieved it was only a short walk.

“Where do I begin?”

****

Jared perched on a bar-stool while Jensen worked his shift.

They’d walked here together and Jensen had told him everything, everything from his wild and desperate love for Danneel, to his parent’s dismissal of him, to Ava’s birth and what had come after. Jared had listened, his expression hard to read but Jensen had seen sympathy in his eyes and not the usual pity that he got as a reaction on telling that particular tale.

“I’m sorry man,” Jared sounded hoarse, his voice low and sympathetic. “You don’t deserve any of that. You were a cool dude, the only person in school who didn’t mock or bully me.”

“Yeah well.” Jensen watched as Jared took a sip of beer. The bar was pretty deserted tonight and he was able to carry on their conversation without being disturbed. “I hated bullies – always have – and there was no way I could sit back and watch them hurt you.” 

“My knight in shining armor.” Jared was staring at him with bright eyes. “I always had a crush on you but – hey – I knew you were straight as a die.”

Jensen bit his lip; yeah maybe he was straight, had always been straight but that didn’t stop him thinking of Jared as beautiful. The gangling boy had turned into one big hunk of a man and he looked so happy, so confident that Jensen actually felt a stab of envy instantly followed by a harder stab of guilt.

“So what are you doing now?” He was keen to change the subject.

“I’m a drag queen.” Jared grinned at him but it was obvious that he wasn’t kidding around. “One of the biggest this side of Texas, have my own show and everything.” He gave Jensen a wink. “Those home craft lessons sure came in handy cos now, now I get to make all my own costumes. I’m a whiz with a sewing machine and some sequins.” He nudged Jensen with his arm. “My momma says I’m more feminine than my baby sister!” Laughter burst from him. “What do ya' think of that?”

Jensen was speechless; he stared at Jared’s mouth and tried to imagine it plastered in red, tried to imagine his eyes lined with black kohl, his lashes thick with mascara.

“I don’t know what to think,” he said but he couldn’t hold back his own smile. “Just that I’m glad for you, you know, I'm glad you got away from those bullies, glad you were able to go your own way.”

“Thanks to you.” Jared was staring openly at him now, his expression soft with affection. “Every year I’ve come back here and hoped I’d see you again, hoped I might be able to thank you properly. You have such a big kind heart, Jensen. You always had, and always will.”

Jensen’s throat was dry; he reached out impulsively and put his hand over Jared’s. The younger man looked up at him, dimples and everything.

“You want to come back to my place for coffee?” Jensen offered, hoping upon hope he was doing the right thing. His life had been a mess for a long time, Ava the only light in the darkest of places but now, now he could see a light at the end of the tunnel and he wanted to follow it, see where it might lead.

“Sure.” Jared’s smile told him everything he wanted to know and more. “I’d love to, maybe meet that little girl of yours. I bet she’s beautiful.”

Jensen’s heart felt so much lighter he felt he might float home.

“She is,” he agreed. “She really is.”

****

It was late and he paid Katie before checking in on Ava. His daughter was asleep clutching a tiny, moth eaten bear and he stroked her hair wishing he could do more.

Jared was sprawled out on his lumpy sofa staring at the tree; he grinned when Jensen came in and patted the space next to him.

“It looks good.” He gestured to the tree. “Festive.”

“I can’t afford much.” Jensen felt as if he were a broken record. “I’m like a walking cliché – a librarian who has to work extra jobs cause he has no money. Not enough dollars to keep the place heated all the time. Shit, I only need fingerless gloves and I’d be Bob-fucking-Cratchet.”

“You’ve obviously done a good job.” Jared’s hand was on his thigh. “You were always so together, Jensen.”

“Not so much now,” he said and bit his lip. “I’m pretty much fallin' apart.”

“Don’t.” Jared leaned closer. “Don’t, Jensen.”

Jensen shook his head and he felt the wet plop of a single tear that threaded down his cheek. Jared came closer still, cupping his chin in his big hands.

“I always thought you were the best thing on this planet,” he whispered. “Still do to be honest. Jensen, this is this something I have always wanted. Please, please let me kiss you.”

Jensen heard himself make a sound and then Jared’s mouth was firm on his, lips slightly dry. The kiss deepened and held, Jared’s tongue licking and probing, his own mouth opening to let Jared inside. 

It had been a long time since he had kissed anyone, a long time since he had had any physical contact with another person and Jared’s warmth seemed to envelope him. He was shaking, hard beneath his jeans, his erection both a surprise and a blessing. Jared cupped it gently in his hand and smoothed his fingers along it; dexterous he unzipped Jensen and pulled out his cock, fingers wrapping around it.

“Tell me to stop,” he hissed. “If you don’t want his tell me to stop.”

Jensen shook his head and laid back on the sofa, legs apart. Jared slipped between them, his own hardness rubbing roughly against his naked cock. Jensen gasped, unable to stop the noises that slipped from his mouth as they rubbed together. The rough denim against his cock was painful but incredible and he knew he was going to come for the first time in a long time, his orgasm like an explosion, Jared groaning as he tensed, wetness soaking the denim of his jeans.

They lay panting; eyes closed. Jared stroked his hair and held him closer and Jensen could actually feel his smile. It wasn’t anything that he had been expecting, it was like a Christmas miracle and he wondered how he had ended up in this place.

****

Ava stood in the doorway with a curious expression on her face; Jensen had managed to clean up and slip on a dressing gown while Jared had borrowed a pair of too short sweatpants and an oversize tee.

“Hey.” He got to his feet and held out his hand to Ava. “I’m Jared. I’m an old friend of your daddy’s and I’m so pleased to meet you.”

“You’re a giant,” she breathed, wondrous and impressed. “Are you going to stay with us?”

“I . . . .” Jared gazed over at Jensen, hope in his slanting hazel eyes.

“I was thinking of asking Jared to stay for Christmas.” Jensen watched that hope turn to pure joy. “If he’d like.”

“Yeah.” Jared was almost bouncing. “I’d like that – I’d like that so very much.”

“You can come and see my nativity.” Ava smiled warily; “I’m an angel. I don’t have a costume but it’ll be okay.”

“Why don’t you have a costume, sugar?” Jared held her tiny hand in his big one.

“I don’t have a mummy to make me one,” she whispered, as if telling secrets. “And daddy can’t sew.”

Jared looked over at Jensen and beamed dimples and all.

“I owe you for all those years you looked out for me,” he said. “And didn’t laugh at me for taking home craft.”

Jensen shook his head in disbelief.

“You can make her a costume?” he asked not daring even to anticipate the answer.

“Did you miss the part when I told you I made all my own costumes.” Jared laughed. He lowered his voice so only Jensen could hear. “This thing between us – whatever it is – you are gonna get a lot more than you bargained for, maybe a lot more than you can handle but Jensen, it’ll be worth it, I swear it’ll be worth it.”

Jensen swallowed down the lump in his throat and reached out to join his hand with Jared’s and Ava’s. 

“I’m sure it will be,” he said.

****

**Epilogue**

Ava shone.

Her costume was of pure white, the dress high on her throat, soft around her bare feet and ankles. The sleeves were long and held in at her slender wrists by lace. Her wings looked as if they had been made out of gossamer, rising from her shoulders and dipping down to the ground. She had a halo made of gold tinsel and she truly looked like an angel.

Jensen could barely hold back the tears as she said her lines and bowed. Beside him Jared sniffed and blew his nose, his eyes fixed on the stage, pride on his face.

When the principal asked Ava who had made her costume she said, with a totally straight face, that it was her new _momma, Jared_ and Jensen couldn’t hold back the laughter as tears still poured down his cheeks.

After Christmas would come a new year and a new hope and Jensen was facing a future that would be full of fresh experiences and total surprises. He'd never thought that his distant past would have such a bearing on his future but with Jared beside him he thought that his life could only get better.

It was a dream and a wish come true and it started right here with an angel which – at Christmas – was totally the right way to start.

End


End file.
